Sam Fender has given the entirety of his £25k Mercury Prize winnings to the Music Venues Trust, which works to save the United Kingdom's independent music venues.
The star was presented with the cheque on 16 October as his latest record the album was declared the best record of the last 12 months.
Fender has opted to give the cash to the MVT, in acknowledgment of the vital role small stages played in his early career.
"As an artist wouldn't be doing my current career if it wasn't for all the performances I did around the region, and beyond, when I was starting out," remarked the artist. "These venues are renowned, but they are in difficulty."
Since the start of 2023, over 150 of these spaces have shut down – roughly 16% of the entire UK sector.
Recently, well-known musicians including Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Sheeran have all supported the MVT in its initiatives to keep the scene afloat, by including a small levy to their ticket costs, which supports independent venues.
Fender also participated, generating more than £100,000 on his 2024 arena tour to support 38 small stages across England, Scotland, and Wales.
The money supported spaces that were dealing with possible closure due to difficulties arising from water damage, blazes and bereavements, as well as licensing issues, legal disputes and sound issues.
Some locations were granted funding support in improving infrastructure and sound and lighting systems that directly benefitted musicians and concertgoers.
"The idea that revenue from performances in major spaces helps the local stages, where it kicks off for artists like me, is just logical," Fender has commented.
He is far from the only musician to donate his award winnings to charitable organizations.
When they earned the prize in 1996 for their album Different Class, frontman Cocker announced that the act would give their winnings to the organization War Child.
In 2002, rapper and singer Ms Dynamite split her prize across a few good causes, such as the children's charity and a Sickle Cell organization.
"I also contributed a £1,000 to my local community centre, to their classes, because I did gymnastics when I was growing up and they required better apparatus," she explained to a publication.
Two years ago, they donated their prize money to the local youth club that nurtured their group, alongside other local music groups.
Additionally 1994 winners M People gave their award to a charity for MS after a acquaintance was found to have the illness.
"The victory was sufficient," said singer Small. "The prize was the cherry on top but we could do without the bonus, because we had the main prize. So our victory affected somebody else's life."
Last week, the MVT shared it had saved two local spots in the South East, by bringing them into community ownership.
One venue in Southampton and the other in that location were acquired under the public acquisition scheme, which is funded by Arts Council England and music fans who purchase "ownership units" in the buildings.
